Slightly nightmarish adventures in Dimension X
by Silver-feathered Eagle
Summary: What happens when an unforeseeable force decides to play a trick on a group of exorcists by interfering in their fight and making them end up at an unknown place? Well, of course, surprise comes first then the Wheel of Fortune (or rather Doom) starts to move... (Full summary inside)
1. Strange anomaly

**Full summary:** What happens when an unforeseeable force decides to play a trick on a group of exorcists by interfering in their fight and making them end up at an unknown place? Well, of course, surprise comes first then the Wheel of Fortune (or rather Doom) starts to move. And the exorcists? Lavi enjoys the events way too much, Kanda just makes faces as usual, Allen is on edge, Lenalee is extremely angry and the others... they cannot decide what they feel about the whole situation just yet. However, an inevitable encounter with a group of not too ordinary nestlings and their even less ordinary and overprotective mother may just solve this problem of theirs. And this is just the beginning of their slightly nightmarish adventures in Dimension X...

 **A/N:** Please forgive me for my potencional mistakes, I'm just trying to practise my non-existent english knowledge here (well... yeah... almost a decade of not using what I have learnt did not have any mercy on it XD). So sorry again ^^

 **Ch. 1**

Neither of them knew what exactly happened or why did they end up where they currently were. In one moment they were at the suburban region in London battling a Level 4 Akuma in order to protect the new Innocence fragment they have just found, and in the next they were standing stupidly in a foreign ancient-looking forest, still blinking rapidly from the blinding flash of light that have just occurred. No Akuma, no ruined or crumbling buildings and no traces of the dirty streets of London either. They stared for what felt like hours in awe at the scene surrounding them: huge rugged oak trees and various other species like hornbeam, maple, ash, birch and elm; their trunk covered by mosses and lichens; lianas hanging from above making them feel like they were in prehistoric times. However it did not matter how much they have watched or how hard they have tried to comprehend this strange situation, it could not change the fact that all six exorcists – namely Lavi, Kanda, Allen, Lenalee, Crowley and Chaoji – were by themselves in that god damned endless-looking forest.

"Anyone any idea where are we?" Lavi asked who was first to recover after the initial frozen state caused by shock. When silence was his only answer he glanced at his still dazed friends. Lenalee was mutely staring out of her head with widely open eyes, Kanda just made various scales of annoyed faces, a deep frown marking his sharp features. Allen's eyes were roaming the area trying to assess the situation, his mouth slightly ajar, however, his expression betrayed he had no idea what was happening around. Crowley was looking back and forth between his friends while Chaoji was examining dumbly the nearby moss-covered snag. Upon receiving no response Lavi made a coughing noise in order to snap his friends out of their trans-like state. Allen blinked then turned towards his red haired friend but having no rational explanation he merely shook his head. Kanda just snorted and muttered something inaudible under his breath. The others still did not move, showing no sign of grasping the situation around them.

"So?" Lavi persisted.

"Obviously in a forest" Lenalee stated. She was still dumbfounded, looking at the enormous trees like a lost little girl. She raised a hand and gently touched the rough, striated bark of the nearby sessile oak. "But the exact where and how is still beyond me."

"I can't sense the Akuma anymore" Allen said carefully. "It has completely vanished"

"Congratulation, Moyashi" Kanda grunted impatiently. "Say something that we don't already know"

"Seems you don't understand what that can mean" the silver haired boy retorted with a tired sigh. "But seriously, what did I even expect from your slow brain?"

"You want a fight?" Kanda glared murderously at his fellow exorcist. For a few moments they were fighting silently, trying to overpower each other, neither of them willing to back down.

"Guys, please stop this" Lenalee jumped between them. "Allen, what did you mean by don't feeling the presence of the Akuma?"

Said boy finally broke the glaring contest, though he gained the right of the last word by slightly bearing his teeth and immediately turning his head away from the long-haired exorcist. Kanda's hand found the cold metallic hilt of his Innocence-laden katana. After all, he could never admit defeat. But a side-glance from Lenalee had him freeze up and halt his all planned movements. He dropped his hands then walked away with heavy steps; leafs and branches painfully cracking under his boots. Allen rolled his eyes but chose to say nothing.

"I can sense a Level 4 Akuma within a radius of at least two miles" the silver haired exorcist stated. "The fact that I cannot feel the presence of the Akuma we've been previously fighting means this isn't an illusion. And this can imply we are not even in London anymore."

"So" Lavi began after a few seconds of silent thinking. "Basically you suggest we've just got teleported?"

"Well... yeah... something like that" Allen stuttered. Considering this possibility in his head and saying out loud were two different things. It sounded a bit foolish like this. His glance shifted upwards at the canopy, looking at the leaves softly rustling in the gentle breeze. A bunch of white-gray clouds were temporarily shrouding the bright midday sun.

"Isn't it possible that somehow you used the Ark?" Lenalee asked trying to find an explanation but her friend shook his head.

"That's very unlikely. Even if it's accidently I can sense the power of the Ark when I'm using it. Besides, I cannot connect places I have never been before. And I'm sure as hell I haven't been here ever in my life"

"So how did we end up here?" Crowley asked. "Was it the Akuma?

"Nah" Lavi waved his hand. "That's not in its interest. Besides, we still have the Innocence, don't we? So why would...?"

"The Innocence!" Allen cried out like he had just discovered the most important piece of the puzzle. "That light! It could have been the Innocence! What if the Innocence did this?"

"Why would it teleport us in the middle of a forest?" Chaoji cut in. He was still new among the exorcists, just a few weeks since he had joined the Black Order, however, that was not an excuse for not attending any missions so the superiors assigned him with a group of more experienced ones. Chaoji was not fully qualified in respect of Akuma, Innocence and the whole Holy War yet; hence it was an understatement that he did not know anything about the strange or paranormal activities God's Crystal can occasionally cause. Lenalee was kind enough to shortly explain the situation Allen was implying. Despite having a vague idea about what happened they weren't any closer where exactly the Innocence had teleported them.

"This is so bloody crazy" Chaoji burst out.

"And we still don't know where we are" Crowley continued.

"Based on the species composition we're still in the temperate zone" Lavi stated after glancing around. "The air is semi-humid and the temperature is warm unlike in Britain. Maybe we are on the continent."

"In any case the Innocence fragment is our only lead now to get back so let's have a look at it" Lenalee suggested. The others hummed in agreement and gathered around their fellow exorcist, namely Kanda, who supposedly had the raw crystal in his pocket. The raven haired youth slowly pulled out the cubical crystal. However, the moment they glanced upon said fragment everyone gasped in surprise. The Innocence had changed shape to a deltoid form, which is unheard of, and it was pulsating with gentle green light.

"It's... activated" Lavi stuttered. Lenalee raised her hand to her mouth and started thinking out loud.

"That means we can be sure that the Innocence made us end up here"

"Yeah" Allen nodded. "Although, the big question is still the _why_ "

"What do you mean?" the female exorcist asked. The silver haired boy just stared at the oddly shaped crystal for a few moments. His expression changed from surprised to thoughtful then suspicious with his brows knitted together.

"Don't you think it's strange for this Innocence to be activated?" he started. He tore away his gaze from the strangely behaving fragment and looked up at his friends. "Innocence only activates when its accommodator is nearby. But there's nobody here apart from us. And since we all have our own Innocence it cannot be connected to either of us.

"Allen is right" Lavi said. "Is it possible that it acts on its own like that time Lenalee's did? And Allen's Innocence did the same when it saved his sorry ass"

"Thanks for making me remember that horrid night" Allen deadpanned. "Really Lavi, I knew I can count on you."

"Sorry Beansprout" Lavi grinned cheekily. It was evident from the tone he used that he felt absolute no shame or regret for what he had said. Allen growled angrily to the hated nickname but did not comment his friend's behaviour. Spending almost a year in Lavi's company made him immune to his sometimes annoying demeanour, however, making fun of his height, which was quite a bit average from his point of view, was not among the tolerable teasing.

"But Lavi" Allen started "I have to make you disappointed. Even though my Innocence was acting without my contribution we were synchronised. Same goes for Lenalee. Contrary to our cases this piece supposedly does not have an accommodator yet so it should be impossible for it to be activated."

"You have a point" Lavi frowned. "Then what the hell does this mean?"

"Who cares?" Kanda cut in. "We obtained the Innocence so let's get back to headquarter and have Hevlaska or that idiot supervisor to examine it."

"Kanda is right" Lenalee agreed. "I'm sure they can come up with an explanation."

"Aren't you interested in this strange situation?" Lavi questioned.

"No" the long haired exorcist grumbled. "I'm fed up with all this shit and it's a waste of time to think about something we are unable to interpret."

"All right" Lavi sighed. "Let's go home! Allen, would you please help us out here by creating an Ark gate?"

"Sure" his friend nodded. "But don't tell a word to Link about this or else I wouldn't hear the end of his lecture about rules!"

His friends sweat dropped at the mention of the inspector and his unnaturally strict attitude to orders. They all agreed that neither of them want to explain why it was, by all means, necessary to use the Ark. They glanced at each other and all nodded at once in understatement. Allen smiled innocently then started to search for the familiar tune in his head. He faintly heard the voice of a piano playing in the back of his mind, felt the softly flowing power of the mysterious entity beneath the surface, although, when he tried to reach out for it he felt like colliding with an invisible barrier. He tried again, his mind heavy and loud with extreme concentration but just when he was about to grab the source of the power the access was, once again, denied from him. He could not use the Ark. Allen felt raw fear creeping up on him and slowly freezing him from the inside out. He remembered well the last time he had faced a similar situation. This one was not the same though. He still felt the power within; he was just unable to reach it. Back then he did not even feel the presence of the Ark. That fact, however, did way too little to ease up his worry. He felt extremely on edge.

"No way" he whispered after one more failed attempt. His friends glanced at him immediately catching a glimpse of his fear.

"What's your problem, Moyashi?" Kanda asked.

"I... I cannot open a gate" the silver haired exorcist mumbled. The others gasped in disbelief. For a few moments they were just silently staring at Allen, not really sure what to make of the situation.

"How could this be?" Lavi questioned.

"I don't really know but..." his friend trailed off then visibly shivered from whatever conclusion he had come up with.

"But?" the Bookman junior urged.

"Remember what I said about the incident in Paris?" When he slightly nodded Allen continued. "This is very much like that situation; however, I can still feel the presence of the Ark. It's just as if my ability to use it has been completely sealed away. And maybe it's the same with my left eye. Which means..."

"We cannot exclude the possibility of the enemy doing this." Crowley finished.

"We have to be ready for anything" Allen stated and he decided to invoke his Innocence just in case of any danger and with that came the next terrific revelation: he could not use his Innocence either. Just like in the case of the Ark he felt the soft pulse of the familiar entity but the divine power did not respond to his call. He did not feel the usual surge of mighty force flowing through his body and the gently enveloping warmth. The more he tried the more tired he became and all of his attempts for conquering the strange hindrance were futile. The only response he got was a faint almost non-existent flash of power but even that left him exhausted. Like he would not have been properly synchronised with his Innocence or simply he could not master up enough energy to use his weapon.

"This is impossible" he breathed.

"What is it?" Lenalee asked but when she caught sight of the pure immense fright on her friend's face she immediately rushed at his side. "Allen-kun what's wrong?"

"I cannot invoke my Innocence either."

"Neither me" Lavi declared after a few moments. The red haired exorcist stared at his Innocence-laden hammer which was still in his small form in spite of trying to call forth. The others tried to activate their weapons too but with no avail. Neither of them had any idea what could have been keeping them away from invoking. The situation was more frightening than anything else they have ever experienced.

"This has to be a bad joke" Chaoji laughed insanely.


	2. Distraught Innocence

They could have called their situation ridiculous or crazy even were they not facing the possibly greatest problem of their life so far. It was one thing that a naughty Innocence fragment decided to play a dirty trick by teleporting them to an unknown place but when they realized that they cannot get back with the help of the Ark and to top it all they were not able to use their own crystals, well that was more than enough. They were tired and frustrated. Kanda just wanted to disappear behind his room's door and meditate, Lavi was dying to have a peaceful sleep and later have a few words with Bookman about the strange Innocence. Chaoji wanted nothing but to get home then show off his successful first mission while Lenalee wished to hug her brother and get her friends in safety. Allen and Crowley, of course, were thinking about various kinds of food but who would be surprised considering the special needs of a parasitic type exorcist. All in all they just wanted to go home and forget about these circumstances worthy to be called dramatic or realise that it was just a mere nightmare. But here they were in this godforsaken forest with seemingly no way to get back to headquarter. And that was irritating.

Allen's gaze shifted again to the oddly behaving Innocence fragment. The crystal was still emitting a vibrant emerald green light. He felt the raw, untamed power slowly seeping out of it and reaching his left hand like small but confident waves of a calm lake. For a brief moment he felt numbness creeping upon his Innocence-laden hand, starting from the very centre of the cross-shaped crystal residing in the back of his hand then reaching his fingers and little by little spreading in the direction of his shoulder. Then, just as it came, it faded away leaving Allen in complete confusion.

"Could it be that..." he started thinking out loud "this Innocence is blocking our abilities?" He slowly walked towards the strange fragment which was still resting in Kanda's palm. Allen felt strangely drawn to the Innocence; like if he could just touch it, every questions would be answered by this simple connection. Following this bizarre anticipation felt like submerging in some kind of dark thick water. His body was heavy, his mind numb. His pupils were dilated, lips partly open like he would be under influence. Despite all rational reasons Allen did not feel any fear at all. He was rather curious and, above all, he wanted to find the answers to the situation at hand so he submitted to his intuition without further hesitation. He stretched his left hand out, inching closer and closer to the crystal while not averting his gaze from it even for an instant.

"Oi!" Kanda grumbled when the silver haired exorcist got too close for his comfort, however, even this unfriendly voice could not snap Allen out of his trans-like state. His hand almost reached the fragment when suddenly tiny green sparkles flew between the dark fingers of his left hand and the crystal creating a buzzing noise. In the moment Allen felt mild electricity hitting him through his outstretched hand and heating his fingertips up a bit. The exorcist, however, did not have enough time to grasp what had happened or even cry out from surprise before the small crystal arose from his comrade's palm and dashed off into the depth of the forest. For a few moments all of them were just dumbly staring after the Innocence, not completely understanding what they have just witnessed. Then the seemingly serene atmosphere broke like an illusion with the angry shouting of Kanda.

"You god-damned moron! What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing" the silver haired boy retorted defensively. "I swear I didn't do anything!

"Then pray tell me the reason why had the Innocence gone bat-shit crazy and flew away as if it hated your very core?!

"How should I know? And why would it even be my fault?" Allen argued.

"Because you were the idiot trying to touch it like the retarded Moyashi you are!" Kanda yelled.

"It could have been you too! It was in your hand after all!"

"But it was you, not me!"

"Well sorry for trying to find an explanation to what had happened" Allen huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms.

"You aren't helping the situation, you're just causing problems" the long haired exorcist snorted. Allen was ready to fight back, he would rather bow before the Millennium Earl than let Kanda have the last word. He opened his mouth in order to retort with a sharp comment, however, Lavi was faster to act up and attempted to avoid a serious fight between the two.

"Hey, hey! Don't kill each other! That won't help either."

Even though the two had finally quit arguing, they were still sending various scales of murderous glares at each other. Of course Allen had never had a chance at winning a battle like that against Kanda but he would rather cut his tongue out before admitting it out loud. Eventually he got bored of the meaningless and childish fight and dropped his arms while an exasperated sigh left his lips.

"Fine" he snorted. "Think what you want but anyone in their right mind would know that I'm not to blame here."

Kanda made a muffled noise but decided to let it go and ended the argument by turning away from the silver haired exorcist. Allen did the same with a slight grimace on his face. Lavi let a relieved sigh escape his lips. Until that point he was seriously worried about his friends getting at each other's neck and may even blood could be spilt. After all, both Allen and Kanda can get a little carried away during a hassle with one another and that combined with the inability to give up makes them the hardest opponents on earth. While on battlefield they can count on each other's help like friends would, they even make a good pair by understanding the other's tiniest movements however, once the gunpowder between them catches fire and their argument gets out of hand they immediately act as archenemies. That is why all the few times when they got into a fight with the other they both ended up receiving various kinds of injuries like bloodied lips, swollen cheeks and dark bruises everywhere on their bodies. Fortunately most of the time they were just teasing or threatening each other with no meaning of real harm.

"Stop pouting you two!" Lavi scolded them playfully. "That won't bring back the Innocence."

"Say that to that idiot thing over there" Kanda waved nonchalantly in the direction of Allen.

"Thing?" said boy asked back resentfully. "I'm a person you know. And I have a name too."

"You are just a stupid Moyashi" Kanda snorted mockingly.

"Well that's just the nickname you have started to call me by since you weren't willing to remember my name till I survive one month at the Order. May I remind you, this happened a year before. And I'm still alive so you can start learning my name. Or are you too retarded for that?"

Allen smiled cheekily at the long haired exorcist and when he caught sight of the veins popping out on Kanda's temple his grin stretched even further. He enjoyed teasing his short-tempered comrade just a little bit too much. Kanda wanted to snap the silver haired boy's neck or just simply wrap his fingers around it and choke the air out of him. He wanted to make him taste the razor-sharp edge of Mugen first hand. Allen seemed to be the biggest annoyance in his life so far... Well except Alma but that is another story. Alma was a bother with his constant approach and kindness but Allen was something else. He did not try to be friends with him; he rather stood up against him with no fear and always challenged him. And that was infuriating. He almost lost control and made a move to wipe off that annoying smile of his, however he managed to restrain himself and answered the challenge with the same sassy demeanour.

"Says the one who doesn't have any sense of direction."

Allen was so very surprised by the sly retort that he was unable to respond immediately. He just gaped like a fish with cheeks slightly red from anger and shame. After he recovered a bit he crossed his arms defensively then turned halfway away from Kanda with a deep frown marking his features. Kanda snorted triumphantly at this behaviour; this round was his.

"Still better than being a retarded." Allen mumbled sulkily. Before they could pull another never-ending argument Lenalee interrupted them with a calm but firm interference.

"Guys, please stop fighting and get back to our problems" Although she was smiling, beneath the surface both of them felt the rigorous aura streaming out of her making them freeze up and quit every form of resistance. They knew exactly that the female exorcist was not someone to make angry. Her kicks could be very painful, that was proven by Komui being unconscious for almost a day after getting kicked by her. And they both wanted to avoid that state by all means. After a few moments all passion had calmed down so finally they could have started to discuss the future plan.

"Uh, thanks Lenalee" Lavi grinned at his comrade. "I seriously doubted my ability to make these two drop their argument. I didn't want to risk my life by standing between them during their insane period so I was considering throwing Kuro-chan at them as distraction. But apparently your method was way better."

"Lavi" Lenalee sighed tiredly. "Thinking about throwing people at others is not funny and definitely not okay at all"

"Indeed" Crowley nodded. "Especially if it's me who you want to use as a bullet. I do not appreciate this way of dealing with problems."

"Sorry, sorry" Lavi laughed awkwardly. "I didn't really mean it."

"None of us believes you, Lavi" Allen stated.

"Shut up Moyashi!" the red haired exorcist retorted with a forced smile. Allen's lips twitched, his silvery-blue eyes darkened at the mention of the nickname.

"Quit harassing me!"

"Enough of this!" Lenalee pealed. "You're behaving like children, for God's sake! I know that everyone is tired and frustrated but do you really want to start this meaningless argument all over again?!"

"Of course not" Lavi assured after sensing Lenalee's patience running low. "That was just a little game, right Allen?" He grabbed the silver haired exorcist in a friendly squeeze. Allen was caught by surprise and the sudden tugging almost made him fall over but his friend's chest and strong grip around his neck prevented that embarrassing situation. After hearing the question meant for him he did the only thing he could: he nodded coincidently, hoping that Lenalee would believe it and she would not kick the soul out of them.

"We can get back to our little problem of getting home" Lavi declared happily.

"So what should we do now?" Chaoji asked timidly after the tension in the atmosphere had somewhat calmed down.

"That's not a question" the red haired exorcist grinned. "We have to find the runaway Innocence since it's our only trace."


End file.
